United Fresh Awards Highlight Innovation, Creativity

Jamie Johansen June 20, 2014

Attendees to the United Fresh Produce Association’s annual convention and expo in Chicago cast their votes throughout the show for fresh produce innovation and recognized this year’s New Product Awards in five categories. More than 40 fresh fruit and vegetable innovations competed in the categories of Best New Food Safety Solution, Best New Fruit Product, Best New Packaging, Best New Packing/Processing Equipment, and Best New Vegetable Product.

The 2014 New Product Award winners announced today are:

Best New Food Safety Solution: FoodLink Fresh – FoodLink
Best New Fruit Product: Crunch Pak with Marvel Apple Snacker, Crunch Pak
Best New Packaging Product: Josie’s Organics Romaine Hearts, Braga Fresh Family Farms
Best New Packing/Processing Equipment: STRAWBERRY CAPPER Mod. Frazer, Turatti S.R.L.
Best New Vegetable Product: Y.E.L.O., Mastronardi Produce/Sunset

“These winning products have been selected by United attendees as outstanding representations of the new approaches, ideas and processes that are driving the fresh fruit and vegetable industry forward, and we applaud them for their product development,” said John Toner, United’s vice president of convention & industry relations. “From its very beginnings, the United show has been the undisputed home of innovation for the produce industry, and these awards continue to showcase the best and brightest minds in the produce business.”

Ag Groups, Food

World Food Prize Honors Wheat Breeder

Cindy Zimmerman June 20, 2014

The selection of wheat breeder Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram as the 2014 World Food Prize Laureate was announced this week during a ceremony at the State Department where Secretary Kerry gave keynote remarks.

“This is the time for a second green revolution,” Kerry said. “That’s why Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram is being honored with the World Food Prize. We are grateful for the hundreds of new species of wheat Dr. Rajaram developed, which deliver 200 million more tons of grain to global markets each year and feed millions across the world.”

In announcing the name of the 2014 Laureate, Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn, President of the World Food Prize, noted how appropriate it is to honor Dr. Rajaram during the Borlaug Centennial Year.

“Dr. Rajaram worked closely with Dr. Borlaug, succeeding him as head of the wheat breeding program at (the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center) in Mexico, and then carried forward and expanded upon his work, breaking new ground with his own invaluable achievements,” Quinn said, noting that Dr. Borlaug himself called Dr. Rajaram “the greatest present-day wheat scientist in the world.”

Born in India and now a citizen of Mexico, Dr. Rajaram developed an astounding 480 wheat varieties bred to offer higher yields and resistance to rust disease, that have been released in 51 countries on six continents and have been widely adopted by small- and large-scale farmers alike.

Wheat, World Food Prize

Millennial Views of Biobased and Sustainability

Cindy Zimmerman June 20, 2014

The hostess for the the USB Biobased Products Stakeholders’ Dialogue at George Washington (GW) University this week was the moderator for an important discussion about what the “millennial generation” thinks about biobased and sustainability.

University sustainability director Kathleen Merrigan, who is also former deputy ag secretary, invited some current students and recent graduates to be on the panel. “What I really wanted biobased product innovators to understand is that we need to develop all kinds of new communications vehicles to reach this generation,” said Merrigan.

The young people talked about the importance of social media and especially short video messages to reach them. “They really like to go out themselves and do the story telling with video,” Merrigan said, adding that engaging them in the learning process can be very effective.

Merrigan says GW’s Planet Forward spent a lot of time covering the USB event this week, tweeting and gathering video. “What they’re doing is trying to teach young people to be storytellers,” she said. “We’d like to send our students out to farms and help tell the story of American agriculture.”

I had a chance to sit down with Kathleen and chat about her time at USDA and her new job with GW and how the two mesh. Interview with Kathleen Merrigan, GW University Sustainability

2014 USB Soy Biobased Dialogue Photo Album

Audio, Education, Soybean, Sustainability, USB, USDA

BASF Announces Summer Training Series

Cindy Zimmerman June 20, 2014

BASF Ag Products is planning what is expected to be the largest training effort in the company’s history for this summer, reaching 24 states and focusing on weed management, application best practices and overall stewardship of BASF herbicides.

“We are committed to ensuring growers’ success with new technologies,” said Luke Bozeman, Technical Market Manager, Herbicides, BASF. “The more knowledgeable growers are about precise stewardship practices, the more successful they will be in their applications.”

The educational training and plot tour series will include an introduction to BASF’s Engenia™ herbicide, which is expected to be registered for use next year. The series will provide information about best practices for stewardship of future Engenia herbicide applications in dicamba-tolerant (DT) crops.

At many of the summer training events, attendees will also have the chance to participate in the On Target Application Academy, a BASF spray application training led by industry professionals which has reached more than 4,000 growers in 21 states since it was started in 2012, This training is focused on proper application techniques – including the importance of boom height, weed size, nozzles and equipment cleanout – and their impact on the desired application.

The summer training series will be held in 24 states across the country, with the largest training events occurring at BASF research farms in Story City, Iowa; Pine Level, North Carolina; Beaver Crossing, Nebraska; and Seymour, Illinois. To participate in a training event in your area, contact your local authorized BASF retailer, your BASF Innovation Specialist or visit the On Target Application Academy website for more information.

At the BASF Ag Media event last week I visited with both Luke Bozeman and BASF herbicide group agricultural biologist John Frihauf about some of the what farmers will learn during these summer field days.

Bozeman (pictured top right) talks about the On-Target Academy and the importance of targeted application with dicamba formulations. Interview with Luke Bozeman, BASF

Frihauf (above left) discusses the status of Engenia and the importance of developing new herbicides to fight weed resistance. Interview with John Frihauf, BASF

2014 BASF Ag Media Summit Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, BASF, Crop Protection

Jerry Harrington Retires Dupont Pioneer

Chuck Zimmerman June 19, 2014

I am still looking for a photo of Jerry Harrington, DuPont Pioneer Sales & Marketing Public Relations manager, that I want to use for this post. When I find it I will update it. In the meantime you get the pensive, paying attention Jerry Harrington from a conference at Dupont Pioneer headquarters in Iowa.

The big news is that after 16 years of dedicated service, Jerry has retired. He not only contributed much to the business over the years but is a personal friend to me and many, many in the agricultural media. I like Jerry’s sense of humor and the fact that he was always so responsive to any requests. We’ll miss him at Pioneer but we’ll be in the good hands of Jane Slusark, Dupont Pioneer Senior Communications Consultant. We had a lot of fun with Jane in Argentina last year at the IFAJ Congress.

Please join us in wishing Jerry well.

Agribusiness, Pioneer

NAMA Happenings and Update

Chuck Zimmerman June 19, 2014

The Executive Committee of the National Agri-Marketing Association met yesterday and even though I could not make it thanks to plane problems and weather I got all caught up with President Kenna Rathai this morning. So this week’s program is our conversation in which Kenna talks about what the committee discussed or did during the quarterly meeting.

First up is the annual NAMA Fall Conference. This year the conference will be held at the Hotel Chicago on Sept. 16-17 with a pre-conference farm tour arranged by the Chicago NAMA Chapter. Speakers and sessions have been announced. Check your schedule and get registered. It’s going to be a good one!

Although Kenna and I didn’t talk about NAMA Boot Camp I’m putting a plug for it here since you need to get registered. It will take place in Kansas City August 19-21.

Some other items on the committee meeting agenda included a proposed overhaul of the NAMA website back end operating system. This needs to be done and will create a better website that will be easier for the staff to manage and keep up to date. Our organizational finances are in great shape and we’ve got money budgeted for this project.

Another item we talked about are some upcoming NAMA industry alliance events. The next one will be a July 28 reception we’re co-hosting with the NAFB during the Agricultural Media Summit. We will also have one during the Farm Progress Show again this fall in Iowa.

Listen to this week’s program and hear more about what is going on with NAMA: NAMA Update

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, for their support.

Subscribe to the ZimmCast podcast here.

Ag Groups, Audio, NAMA, ZimmCast

Biobased Products – How Important for Ag?

Talia Goes June 19, 2014

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “How would you rate the job farmers are doing telling consumers where their food comes from?” It looks as though many of you feel their efforts are good to fair, but as farmers continue to engage in storytelling activities such as the Food Dialogues and social media, more can be done.
Our poll results:

Great – 10%
Good – 30%
Fair – 35%
Bad – 20%
Other – 5%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “How important are bio-based products for agriculture?” “We want to get to the point where we’re using everything we grow and everything we raise” to create jobs, help the environment and reduce petroleum use, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in an interview with USA Today. What do you think – will it encourage growth in rural communities and encourage consumers to understand what’s in the products they’re using?

ZimmPoll

Teaching Starts at Home

Melissa Sandfort June 19, 2014

As a mom who works in the agriculture industry, it’s important that my children know where their food comes from. For instance, when I read “Johnny Tractor” books with my 2-year-old daughter and she sees the picture of the cow, she knows the cow has an udder and we get milk from a cow. As a sidebar note, the movie “Barnyard” still bothers me because there are cows with udders and male voices. Anyone else see something wrong with that? I’m off my soapbox now.

As we drive to and from town, I point out tractors, cattle, sprayers, and all things agriculture I possibly can. And when we turn by our John Deere painted mailbox and head up the driveway to the house, this is a field of dryland corn that runs the length of our drive.

The other day, my son (who is almost 6) told me he is excited for the corn to be ready to eat. I quickly corrected him that it was field corn, not sweet corn, and he replied, “Oh, cows eat it, not people.” Proud moment.

I believe educating our children about food and where it comes from starts right here at home. Are you teaching your children about our safe, healthy food supply, then thanking our farmers for what they do to put food on our dinner tables?

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

Elevance Exemplifies Biobased Product Diversity

Cindy Zimmerman June 18, 2014

One of the many biobased product companies represented at the USB Biobased Products Stakeholders’ Dialogue this week was Elevance Renewable Sciences, which produces a wide array of materials from renewable oils like soybeans.

“We make products targeted at three broad market industries,” says Andy Shafer, EVP for sales and marketing. “The consumer and industrial space where we make ingredients for cleaners, detergents and solvents, we make ingredients for personal care products, and we make high-performance waxes. In our lubricants and additives space, we make base oils for lubricants and additives for lubricants and fuels, and in our engineered polymers and coatings area we make building blocks for engineered polymers, high-performance plastics, and coatings and adhesives.”

Shafer says they came to the USB event because it gave them an opportunity to talk with government officials, both on the demand side and on the regulatory side. He even had a chance to ask Deputy Agriculture Secretary Krysta Harden directly about the potential of a loan guarantee for their new plant being built in Mississippi. Interview with Andy Shafer, Elevance

I had the chance to catch Krysta Harden on video visiting with Elevance as she toured through the USB event this week – watch it below.

2014 USB Soy Biobased Dialogue Photo Album

Audio, Soybean, USB, USDA, Video

NAMA Exec Comm Meets

Chuck Zimmerman June 18, 2014

Thanks to our fearless National Agri-Marketing Association President, Kenna Rathai, I can share a photo from today’s Executive Committee Mtg. I should be there. But I’m not. I want to be there. But I’m not. And it’s not Delta’s fault.

I got as far as Atlanta today. My flight to the meeting in Chicago was delayed and after we boarded we found out we had mechanical troubles and had to de-plane. Our new plane was an hour away and as we were boarding it we found out that O’Hare airport was on a ground stop due to weather. After two hours of waiting on this I gave up. Missed the meeting and turned around to go home. A first in all my years of travel!

So, I have communicated with some of the NAMA execs and business is getting done while I’m on my way back to ZimmComm World Headquarters. #ILoveTravel

NAMA

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